Santos Michelena Park, sports and recreation

In the next post you will not see extravagant buildings or structures, that may be for the next one, but in my efforts to show you places of my hometown, Maracay, this time I will share with you the spaces of the Santos Michelena Park. This is located between Ramon Narvaez Avenue and Bolivar Avenue, but the most striking landmark is that it is located behind the important baseball stadium Jose Perez Colmenares, this stadium is known by everyone in the city because there plays the local team, the Tigres de Aragua, it is important to mention that baseball is the national sport of Venezuela.

I could say that the Santos Michelena Park is quite simple, however, after returning after a few years, I could notice that it has improved a lot. The spaces are conditioned acceptably, this in comparison with previous years when it was quite deteriorated and very unsafe, however, it could be better, but we know that it is difficult for large public spaces like this to be kept in perfect condition. In this park, which is about 8 hectares, we can find walkways, sports areas, attractions for children, green areas and common areas to rest and spend time with family and friends.

Sports such as baseball and soccer are the most practiced in this park, in fact, we can notice that some of them have artificial turf to keep them in optimal conditions because there are some sports academies dedicated to train local talents. Many of these schools have produced great athletes from my city, many have played in the MLB, which is the most important baseball league in the world.

There are also exercise machines, the truth is that I do not know the usefulness of each of these, but there are many and it is remarkable that they are in good condition.

One of the most used spaces in this park is the walkway, it is normal to see many people walking, jogging and running through this place with the intention of exercising and burning calories. This walkway has always been here and at one time I got to walk it in its entirety. Something I liked is that as you go along you can see the amount of meters you have traveled, that can be very useful to keep track of your journey.

Children are guaranteed to have fun, throughout the park there are different attractions that are in very good condition, some are built in recent times such as those made of plastic (or at least that's what it looks like), while others are made of cement, although it is true that they are old, they are still in good condition. These areas did not exist when I used to come here, so I give the park an extra point for adding these attractions.

Green areas may not look as green as they should, but we are currently going through a hugging summer that is even causing devastating fires in the nearby mountains, so it is normal to see some trees dry and with leaves on the ground. However, there are some that remain firmly green, especially those that are larger. Something that catches my attention is that the trees are located in places that do not interrupt the free access or use of the sports and recreation areas, in addition, they generate a pleasant shade.

After having spent several years without coming to Santos Michelena Park, I could notice a slight improvement in its different spaces, in fact, it is probably at its best moment. I believe that the construction of this type of parks is very important for the recreation and health of the citizens, although in these photos you can see few people (taken during Easter week), normally many people visit and enjoy it.

It was a pleasure to share once again with all of you, see you soon.